Here Comes a Glimpse of Heaven

On Christmas morning while waiting for our families to arrive we often miss the magnitude of this day. It is difficult with a world view to comprehend that two thousand years ago angels declared, a “Glimpse of Heaven” has come through the birth of Christ.

John 1:1In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

John 1:14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Who was the Word named Jesus Christ?
James Allen Francis describes his impact on the history of the human race.He was born in an obscure village, the child of a poor peasant couple, he worked in a carpentry shop until he was thirty, for three years he was an itinerant preacher, he never traveled more than 200 miles from the place where he was born, he never visited a big city, he never wrote a book, he never held an office, he had no family, never owned a home. He never did any of the things that we associate with greatness but 19 centuries have come and gone, and he is the central figure of the human race and all the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, and all the Parliaments that ever sat and all the Kings that ever reigned, all the Presidents that ever were elected put together have not affected life on this earth as much as that that one man. Jesus changed everything.

I have always struggled to comprehend the immenseness of God the creator of the universe, but His act of humility, to come and dwell among us so that I could know Him was a blessing.

For years I was full of pride and lost in a place of darkness where I did not understand or know Christ. I thank God for revealing himself to me through Jesus Christ and thankful for the divine appointments He had prepared for me on my faith journey.

It has been such a joy to know Christ and understand that through his birth the world was changed with Love. How powerful Love can be to open the door slightly to get a glimpse of heaven.

When have you see a Glimpse of Heaven?

Is it through the Love of your family and friends who show grace despite your brokenness?

We have also been blessed to see the joy and love of Heaven through our travels with Teach To Transform…

Here comes Heaven,

when we see Christ in the passion of Christians who travel 6 days on the Amazon river to get to our training.

Here comes Heaven,

when the men and women travel days out of the Himalayan mountains because of their compassion to care for their people and share the love of Christ.

Here comes Heaven,

when the courageous evangelists in Asia are relentless in their advance of the gospel despite severe persecution.

Here comes heaven,

when the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda humbly set aside their volatile tribal heritage to sit together and love one another.

How do we see heaven in our suffering?

Joni Eareckson Tada paralyzed as a quadriplegic after a diving accident, was once asked, “Do you believe we see a glimpse of heaven when we are blessed to have a wonderful day full of health, joy, and things of this world?”
She thought for a moment and answered, “We get a glimpse of heaven when we see Christ in our suffering.”

This can be a difficult time of year for many who have lost a loved one and for the first time are experiencing Christmas. Jesus Christ changes everything because he gives us hope and peace that we will be together again in Heaven. Christ knows our pain and when the “Word” became flesh in Jesus Christ with his message of love, we saw a glimpse of heaven. Our faith tells us that our loved ones are now in the arms of Christ and even if given a choice would not return from the embrace of our Savior.

Christ came with a message of love, and as we wait for his second coming, my heart breaks when we meet people in the spiritually darkest places in the world who have never even heard of the first coming.

When was the last time someone described you as a picture of Christ?

Surrender to the Holy Spirit in you and turn your focus away from the things of this world and into the eyes of Christ. Let’s not go quietly into heaven, but with the time we have left let’s loudly proclaim the good news. Christ came to show us how he uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things, let him write your story.

For His Glory,
Tom and Karen

Dr. Tom is a Board Certified Emergency Medicine Physician in the USA with over 25 years of experience and an ordained minister by Southeast Christian Church in Louisville Kentucky. His true passion is world missions and he and his wife Karen are the founders of Teach To Transform, an organization that exists to equip partners around the world with medical and vocational skills they can use to share the gospel of Christ. You can subscribe to Dr. Tom’s weekly blog, Divine Appointments, to read more stories and learn more about the mission of Teach To Transform.